Attachment fixture, cabinet stand, and article attachment method

ABSTRACT

An article attachment method for attaching a stand that includes at least one through-hole, to a cabinet that includes at least one groove, is provided. The stand is attached to the cabinet by aligning the grooves in the cabinet with the through-holes in the stand, inserting attachment fixtures through the through-holes, positioning the minor axis parts of attachment parts in the attachment fixtures so as to face the side walls of grooves on the cabinet, rotating the attachment fixtures by a prescribed angle in one direction, and positioning the major axis parts of the attachment parts so as to face the side walls of grooves.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to an attachment fixture for attaching anarticle to another article, a cabinet stand having said attachment, andan attachment method for attaching an article to another article.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In general, various horizontal type main-body devices of personalcomputers, their external memories and other peripheral equipments,audiovisual equipments and so on are configured to place in thehorizontal orientation, for example, by providing leg parts 102 on thebottom surface of the device main body 100, as shown in FIG. 1, so thatthey can be used in a stable condition.

[0003] However, in order to save space for installation, it has beenrequired to use such a device main body 100 in the vertical orientationas well. In order to realize this requirement, it has been needed tomake it possible to use the device main body 100 not only in thehorizontal orientation but also in the vertical orientation, withoutmodifying its design shape. As shown in FIG. 2, simply placing ahorizontal type device main body 100 in vertical orientation makes itunstable, because its base area becomes relatively small. Thus, therehave been proposed stands for preventing a horizontal type device mainbody from toppling over in the vertical orientation.

[0004] In one example, stands 112 as shown in FIG. 3 are prepared, eachstand having a rectangular indentation or depression 110 that is roughlythe same as or slightly larger than the width of device main body 100.Stands 112 are attached to device main body 100 by pressing it againstthe body by means of tightening screws 116, wherein damage preventionspacers 114 are interposed between the body and the respective stands soas not to damage device main body 100. In general, such stands 112 areused to prevent tumble of device main body 100.

[0005] The example of FIG. 3 illustrates that stands 112 are attached todevice main body 100 at two locations, one at front and the other atrear, but the front and rear stands 112 may be suitably joined to forman integral stand, as indicated by the dotted lines of alternating longand two short dashes (“two-dot chain lines”).

[0006] In another example, board-shaped stands 120 as shown in FIGS. 4and 5 are used, each stand having a securing belt 122 such as fabricbelt, stretchable rubber belt or the like that is secured to mountingsurface 120 a of the stand on which, for example, the device main bodyis mounted. In this case too, as shown in FIG. 5, stands 120 areattached to device main body 100 in two locations, one in front and theother in rear, but the front and rear stands 120 may be suitably joinedto form an integral stand, as shown by the two-dot chain lines.

[0007] Further in another example, a board-shaped stand 132 as shown inFIG. 6 is used. The stand has a mounting surface 130 of relatively smallarea, and device main body 100 is secured by an adhesive to mountingsurface 130 of said stand 132 as shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 6, region 134indicated by the slanting lines is the part that is coated withadhesive.

[0008] However, in the example shown in FIG. 3, it is necessary toinclude damage prevention spacers 114 because of the danger ofscratching or otherwise damaging device main body 100 by part of stand112 being pressed against and coming into contact with side surfaces 100a and 100 b of device main body 100. This creates problems that thenumber of parts becomes large, and that the size of stand 112 itselfbecomes relatively large, which makes meaningless the purpose of savingspace for installation by placing device main body 100 in the verticalorientation.

[0009] Moreover, upon carrying around device main body 100 to whichstand 112 is attached, if the user holds stand 112 side with device mainbody 100 upside-down, device main body 100 is possible to come loose andfall off from stand 112. Therefore, frictional force or securing forceis necessary to ensure that device main body 100 does not fall off. Inthe example of FIG. 3, device main body 100 is supported by contactbetween damage prevention spacers 114 and one side surface 100 a ofdevice main body 100 and by contact between the sidewall of stand 112and the other side surface 100 b of device main body 100. In order toensure sufficient frictional force or securing force, it is necessary tomake the area of each contact surface between device main body 100 andstand 112 large or to make damage prevention spacers 114 of a materialthat has large frictional force. This might increase the manufacturingcost of stand 112.

[0010] In the example of FIGS. 4 and 5, installation space can be saved,because securing belts 122 are merely put on device main body 100. Butwhen carrying around device main body 100 to which stand 120 isattached, fastening force and belt strength are necessary to ensure thatdevice main body 100 will not come loose from stand 120 by holding thestand 120 side with device main body 100 upside-down. To ensure thisfastening force, a material of relatively high elastic force can bechosen for securing belt 122, but this might make it difficult for theuser to manually loop high-elastic-force securing belt 122 over devicemain body 100.

[0011] In the example of FIGS. 6 and 7, device main body 100 is affixedto stand 132 by an adhesive, so it is difficult or impossible to removestand 132 from the main body. Moreover, when the main body is placed inthe horizontal orientation, it cannot be installed horizontally, so themain body device cannot fully function, and such placement might detractfrom its appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] In view of such problems, the purpose of this invention is toprovide an attachment fixture, cabinet stand, and article attachmentmethod whereby, for example, there is no need to alter the design shapeof a device main body for attaching a stand to the device main body, thestand can be securely attached to the device main body, and the standcan be removed easily from the device main body.

[0013] A further purpose of this invention is to provide an attachmentfixture for attaching a cabinet that houses electronic apparatus to acabinet stand, a cabinet stand that has said attachment fixture, and anattachment method for these.

[0014] In one aspect of this invention, there is provided an attachmentfixture comprising a head part and an attachment part extendinglongitudinally from said head part, the attachment part including amajor axis part having a major axis along a first direction and a minoraxis part having a minor axis along a second direction, said first andsecond directions being diameter parts contained in the plane that isperpendicular to said longitudinal direction, and the head part beingshaped so as to extend in the first direction of said two directions.

[0015] When this attachment fixture is used, for example, to attach onearticle to another, the attachment part is advanced through one articletoward the other and then rotated, whereby, since the attachment partincludes the major axis part having a major axis along the firstdirection and the minor axis part having a minor axis along the seconddirection, a portion of the attachment part engages with the otherarticle, and as a result the one article is attached to the otherarticle. Of course, rotation in the opposite direction releases theengaged portion of said attachment part from the other article, makingit easy to remove the one article from the other article.

[0016] Also, since the head part is shaped so as to extend along thefirst direction of said two directions, it possible to easily confirmthe directionality when the attachment part is advanced to said otherarticle, thereby to simplify the attachment operation.

[0017] Also, in said configuration, said attachment part may be made sothat a screw thread ridge is formed on said major axis part. In thiscase, the screw thread ridge screwed into said other article, so thatthe one article can be securely attached to the other article.

[0018] In another aspect of this invention, there is provided a cabinetstand for supporting a cabinet that includes at least one groovetherein, the cabinet stand comprising a stand main body including atleast one through-hole, and an attachment fixture for attaching thestand main body to said cabinet by inserting it through saidthrough-hole in said stand main body and rotating it in one direction,wherein said attachment fixture has a head part including a portion thatis larger than the diameter of said through-hole, and an attachment partextending longitudinally from said head part and being sized so as to gothrough said through-hole; and also wherein the attachment part includesa major axis part having a major axis along a first direction and aminor axis part having a minor axis along a second direction, said firstand second directions being contained in the plane that is perpendicularto said longitudinal direction; and further wherein said major axis islonger than the distance between the side walls in said cabinet groove,and said minor axis is shorter than the distance between said sidewalls.

[0019] In one embodiment, the attachment part includes the major axispart having a major axis along the first direction and the minor axispart having a minor axis along the second direction. Thus, by insertingthe attachment part of the attachment fixture through the through-holeof the stand main body into the groove of the cabinet, and then rotatingthe attachment fixture, a portion of the attachment part engages withthe side walls of the groove in the cabinet because of the anisotropy ofthe external shape of the attachment part, whereby the stand main bodyis attached to the cabinet.

[0020] In one embodiment, the attachment part includes the major axispart having a major axis along the first direction and the minor axispart having a minor axis along the second direction, and said major axisis longer than the distance between the side walls in said cabinetgroove, while said minor axis is shorter than the distance between saidside walls. Thus, when inserting the attachment part of the attachmentfixture into the cabinet groove, the attachment part is inserted intothe groove simply, by creating a state in which the major axis part liesalong the groove, that is, a state in which the minor axis parts arefacing to the sidewalls. And by rotating the attachment part in onedirection, the major axis part engages with the sidewalls, whereby thestand main body is attached to the cabinet.

[0021] The head part on said attachment fixture may be shaped so as toextend along the first direction of said two directions. That is, byshaping the head part so as to extend in correspondence with the majoraxis part or minor axis part in the attachment part, upon inserting theattachment part into the groove of said cabinet, it is simple torecognize the insertion direction by confirming the position of thehead, whereby wrong insertion of the attachment fixture can beprevented.

[0022] Also, in said configuration, with regard to said attachment partin said attachment fixture, a thread ridge may be formed on said majoraxis part. This makes it possible to securely attach the stand main bodyto the cabinet, because the thread ridge is screwed into the sidewallsof the groove in the cabinet.

[0023] In addition, stoppers may be provided on said stand main body tokeep the range of rotation of said attachment fixture within aprescribed range. This makes it simple for the user to recognize how farthe attachment fixture may be rotated, and can make the operability moreefficient.

[0024] In another aspect of this invention, there is provide an articleattachment method for attaching a first article including at least onethrough-hole to a second article including at least one groove, whereinsaid first article is attached to said second article by aligning saidthrough-holes in the first article with said grooves in the secondarticle, inserting the attachment fixture through said through-hole,positioning the minor axis part of the attachment part of the attachmentfixture so as to face the side walls of said groove, rotating saidattachment fixture by a prescribed angle in one direction, andpositioning the major axis part of said attachment part so as to facethe side walls of said groove. Thus in attaching the first article tothe second article, the first article can be securely attached to, andeasily removed from the second article without having to modify thedesign shape of the second article.

[0025] In another aspect of this invention, there is provide anelectronic apparatus comprising an apparatus main body, a cabinet inwhich the apparatus main body is housed, and a cabinet stand forinstalling the cabinet, wherein the cabinet includes at least onegroove, and wherein the cabinet stand comprises a stand main bodyincluding at least one through-hole, and an attachment fixture forattaching the stand main body to the cabinet by inserting the attachmentfixture through said through-hole of the stand main body and rotatingsaid attachment fixture, and further wherein the attachment fixturecomprises a head part including a portion that is larger than thediameter of said through-hole, and an attachment part extendinglongitudinally from said head part and being sized so as to go throughsaid through-hole; and also wherein the attachment part includes a majoraxis part having a major axis along a first direction and a minor axispart having a minor axis along a second direction, said first and seconddirections being contained in the plane that is perpendicular to saidlongitudinal direction, said major axis being longer than the distancebetween the side walls in said cabinet groove, and said minor axis beingshorter than the distance between said side walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a horizontal type prior art deviceplaced in the horizontal orientation.

[0027]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a horizontal type prior art deviceplaced in the vertical orientation.

[0028]FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of use with astand relating to the device of FIG. 1.

[0029]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second example of a priorart stand.

[0030]FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing use of the stand of FIG. 4.

[0031]FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a third example of a priorart stand.

[0032]FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing use of the stand of FIG. 6.

[0033]FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the stand of thepresent invention, together with the cabinet.

[0034]FIG. 9 is a front view showing the stand of the present invention,together with the cabinet.

[0035]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the attachment of thestand with the cabinet.

[0036]FIG. 11 is a side view showing, with part cut away, the stand ofthe present invention attached to the cabinet.

[0037]FIG. 12 is a bottom view showing the stand of the presentinvention attached to the cabinet.

[0038]FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the attachment fixture ofthe present invention.

[0039]FIG. 14A is a plan view of the attachment fixture of FIG. 13, FIG.14B is its side view, and FIG. 14C is its front view.

[0040]FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate the formation of the attachment partof the attachment fixture of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0041] Referring to FIGS. 8-14, the attachment fixture, cabinet stand,and article attachment method relating to this invention are describedherein below, by taking as an example an embodiment that applies to thecase in which various horizontal types of electronic apparatus areattached to a stand and are used in vertical orientation. Also, thesevarious types of electronic apparatus cover personal computers, theirexternal memory devices, audiovisual apparatus, etc.

[0042] (Cabinet Stand for Electronic Apparatus placed in verticalorientation)

[0043] As shown in FIG. 8, an electronic apparatus 1 0 has a main bodythat is housed inside a cabinet 12, and multiple grooves 14 formedaround the substantially entire circumference of cabinet 12 (the sidepart of the cabinet in horizontal orientation). These grooves 14 areformed for artistic design requirements and are not formed on the rearside of electronic apparatus 10 (the side to which power line 16 isconnected). Cabinet 12 is formed of a synthetic resin such as ABS(acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin).

[0044] Also, four legs 18 are provided on side surface 12 a when cabinet12 is put in vertical orientation (the base in horizontal orientation)for the purpose of raising side surface 12 a from the installationsurface in order to dissipate heat efficiently.

[0045] Stand 20 comprises stand main body 22, which is formed in aroughly board shape, and multiple attachment fixtures 24, which will bedescribed below. Also, note that in FIG. 8 these attachment fixtures arepictured relatively large (not to scale) for electronic apparatus 10 andstand 20 in order to make their shape easy to understand.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 8-10, stand main body 22 has cabinet mountingpart 26, whose top surface is flat, its both sides have tapered surfaces28, which slants downward toward the outside, and space 32 is definedbetween the bottom surface of cabinet mounting part 26 and standinstallation surface 30. This stand installation surface 30 means thesurface on which stand 20 is installed, and refers to, for example, thetop surface of a desk, etc. (see FIG. 10). Inside this space 32,multiple (three, in example of FIGS. 11 and 12) reinforcing plates 36are formed integrally between a pair of side walls 34 a and 34 b thatare formed in the lengthwise direction of stand main body 22, andreinforce the strength of cabinet mounting part 26 and prevent it fromfalling into said space 32.

[0047] Multiple (four, in the example of FIG. 8) through-holes 40 areformed in cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body 22. As shown inFIG. 12, through-holes 40 are formed at positions symmetrical withrespect to the midline m extending along the lengthwise direction ofstand main body 22 and also at positions symmetrical with respect to themidline n extending along the width direction of stand main body 22 (seeFIG. 12). Thus the positions of through-holes 40 are set so as tostabilize the attachment state of cabinet 12 when, as described below,attachment fixtures 24 are advanced into cabinet 12 throughthrough-holes 40 and then cabinet 12 is attached to stand 20.

[0048] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, multiple projections 42 that projectupward (toward electronic apparatus 10) are formed integrally on the topsurface (the mounting surface) of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand mainbody 22. As shown in FIG. 9, these projections 42 are formed in a sizeand position so as to grip the inside of grooves 14 formed in the bottomsurface of cabinet 12.

[0049] Moreover, in this embodiment, the positions of projections 42 aredetermined so that when the bottom surface of cabinet 12 and themounting surface of stand main body 22 are made to abut against eachother, and projections 42 on the mounting surface of stand main body 22are inserted toward the interior of grooves 14 in the bottom surface ofcabinet 12, multiple through-holes 40 in cabinet mounting part 26 ofstand main body 22 are automatically positioned to align with thecorresponding grooves 14 in the bottom surface of cabinet 12 match. Thatis, said projections 42 function as positioning members for mountingcabinet 12 on stand 20.

[0050] (Attachment Fixture)

[0051] Stated briefly, attachment fixture 24 corresponds to a deformedscrew. As shown in FIG. 13, it consists of head part 50 which isrotationally driven by a screwdriver in the attachment state, andattachment part 52 which is screwed into another member.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 13, attachment fixture 24 has head part 50 andattachment part 52 extending from head part 50 in the longitudinaldirection (the z-axis direction), and these parts are integrally formedof stainless steel, for example. This attachment fixture 24 isconfigured in such a way that the external shape of attachment part 52has anisotropy in two directions (the x-axis direction and the y-axisdirection) which are contained in the plane (the x-y plane) that isperpendicular to said longitudinal direction (the z-axis direction).

[0053] Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, attachment part 52is formed by cutting thread on a cylinder, and then by cutting away theside portion in parallel. Attachment part 52 thus formed has major axispart 54 having major axis La in the x-axis direction, and minor axispart 56 having minor axis Lb in the y-axis direction (see FIG. 14A). Inmajor axis part 54, each end face thereof is formed in circular-arcshape, and on its upper part, thread ridges 58 are formed up to a givenrange from the end of attachment part 52. Minor axis part 56, whose endfaces 56 a are made flat, has flat surfaces that continue as far as headpart 50. Alternatively, the cross-sectional shape of attachment part 52may be formed in that like a track-and-field track.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 14A, said major axis La of attachment part 52denotes the distance between the tops of screw thread ridge 58 on theend faces of major axis part 54, and minor axis Lb denotes the distancebetween end faces 56 a of minor axis part 56.

[0055] Head part 50 of attachment fixture 24 has a shape that extendsalong the x-axis direction, and formed in its top is a groove 60 of asize to accommodate the insertion of, for example, the tip of aflat-bladed screwdriver or the edge of a coin. FIG. 8 shows the state inwhich the tip 62 of a flat-bladed screwdriver rotates attachment fixture24.

[0056] Now, the relationships in size between said attachment fixtures24, said through-holes 40 of stand main body 22, and said grooves 14 ofcabinet 12 will be described.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 8, major axis La of attachment part 52 inattachment fixture 24 is set smaller than diameter D of through-hole 40and larger than distance Lc between the side walls of groove 14 incabinet 12. Specifically, major axis La of attachment part 52 is set tobe such a length that thread ridge 58 on major axis part 54 will bescrewed into the inside of the side walls of groove 14 of cabinet 12.

[0058] Also, as shown in FIG. 10, height Ld of attachment part 52 (seealso FIG. 14B) is set larger than thickness t of cabinet mounting part26 of stand main body 22 and to be no greater than the total dimensionof thickness t of cabinet mounting part 26 plus depth Le of groove 14.Also, length Lf of the threaded portion (see also FIG. 14B) is set to beno greater than said depth Le of groove 14.

[0059] On the other hand, maximum length Lg of head part 50 (see alsoFIG. 14B) is set larger than diameter D of through-hole 40, and height hof head part 50 (see also FIG. 14B) is set to be no greater than heightLh of space 32 in stand main body 22.

[0060] Next, the method for attaching stand 20 to cabinet 12 will bedescribed.

[0061] First, bottom surface 12 b of cabinet 12 and the top surface ofcabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body 22 are made to abut againsteach other, and projections 42 on the mounting surface of stand mainbody 22 are inserted into respective grooves 14 on the bottom surface ofcabinet 12. At this time, positioning is automatically done so thatthrough-holes 40 on cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body 22 andcorresponding grooves 14 in bottom surface 12 b of cabinet 12 align toeach other.

[0062] Then, attachment parts 52 of attachment fixtures 24 are insertedinto grooves 14 of cabinet 12 through through-holes 40 from the bottomsurface of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body 22. At this time,attachment parts 52 are inserted in such a state that the extensiondirection of head parts 50 coincides with the lengthwise direction ofstand main body 22 because the direction of major axis part 54 and theextension direction of head part 50 are the same. This creates a statein which end faces 56 a in minor axis parts 56 of attachment parts 52(see FIGS. 13 and 14A) face the side walls of grooves 14 in cabinet 12,so that attachment parts 52 can be easily inserted into grooves 14.

[0063] Then, head parts 50 of attachment fixtures 24 are driven torotate by, for example, about 90 degrees using tip 62 of a flat-bladedscrewdriver or the edge of a coin. By this rotationally drivingoperation, major axis parts 54 of attachment parts 52, particularly thethread ridge 58, is cut into and secured by the sidewalls of grooves 14.This stand main body 22 is securely attached to cabinet 12 by attachmentfixtures 24.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 12, if desired, it is preferable to provide onthe bottom surface of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body 22stoppers 70 that limit rotation of attachment fixture 24 aroundthrough-holes 40 to a prescribed range (for example, 0-90 degrees).

[0065] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, two stopper pieces 70 aand 70 b are formed at point-symmetrical positions about the center ofthrough-hole 40. By stopper pieces 70 a and 70 b thus arranged, therange of rotation of attachment fixture 24 can be regulated to a rangefrom the position where the extension direction of head part 50approximately coincides with the lengthwise direction of stand main body22 to the position where the extension direction of head part 50 becomesperpendicular to the lengthwise direction when head part 50 is rotatedclockwise as indicated by arrow A. This can prevent attachment fixture24 from turning too far and damaging the side walls of groove 14, canprevent the fastening effect of the screws from being lost, and canprevent attachment units 52 from coming out.

[0066] And when removing cabinet 12 from stand main body 22, it can beremoved simply, by performing the opposite procedure from theabove-described procedure.

[0067] Thus, in this embodiment, since an attachment fixture 24 has headpart 50 and attachment part 52 extending from head part 50 in thelongitudinal direction (the z-axis direction), and the external shape ofattachment part 52 has anisotropy in two directions (the x-axisdirection and the y-axis direction) contained in the plane that isperpendicular to said longitudinal direction (the z-axis direction), onecan readily attach stand 20 to cabinet 12 by utilizing grooves 14 incabinet 12, with no need to modify the design shape of cabinet 12.

[0068] Moreover, because thread ridge 58 is provided on major axis part54 of attachment part 52, when attaching stand 20 to cabinet 12, saidthread ridge 58 grips the side walls of groove 14 in cabinet 12, wherebystand 20 is securely attached to cabinet 12.

[0069] In particular, the construction is such that each attachmentfixture 24 is inserted into cabinet 12 through cabinet mounting part 26of stand main body 22, so stand main body 22 can be made thin, andfurther because the width of stand main body 22 does not need to belarger than the minimum length enough to prevent toppling over sufficesfor, the size of stand main body 22 can be made small.

[0070] And even if stand 20 is removed from cabinet 12 and theelectronic apparatus is used, for example, in horizontal orientation,the part that is gripped by thread ridge 58 is the side walls of grooves14, so any scratching or other damage caused by the gripping of thethread is never conspicuous, and the attractive appearance is nevermarred.

[0071] Because the extension direction of head part 50 in attachmentfixture 24 coincides with the extension direction of major axis part 54in attachment part 52, it is easy to identify or confirm thedirectionality when inserting attachment part 52 into groove 14 ofcabinet 12, and the attachment operation becomes very simple.

[0072] Also, in this embodiment, height Ld of attachment part 52 is setlarger than thickness t of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body22 and no greater than the total dimension of thickness t of cabinetmounting part 26 plus depth Le of groove 14, making the attachment ofstand 20 by attachment fixture 24 more secure, without any scratching ofthe base of groove 14 by the tip of attachment part 52 and withoutlifting up cabinet 12, which is also beneficial for sake of appearance.

[0073] Also, height h of head part 50 is set to be no greater thanheight Lh of space 32 (the space formed below cabinet mounting part 26)of stand main body 22, so when attaching stand 20 to cabinet 12 usingattachment fixtures 24, head part 50 is accommodated inside said space32 of stand main body 22, and in appearance, attachment fixtures 24cannot be visible, which is also beneficial for sake of appearance.

[0074] In the above example, what is shown as groove 14 formed incabinet 12 is a groove that is formed continuously from one end face ofcabinet 12 to the other end face, but besides this, it suffices if onlya part is grooved. For example, groove 14 may be formed in only the partthat faces at least through-hole 40 when bottom surface 12 b of cabinet12 is mounted on cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main unit 22. In thiscase, any plane shape, such as an oval or rectangle, is conceivable as aplane shape as the part where groove 14 is formed.

[0075] Also, it should be noted that the attachment fixture, cabinetstand, and article attachment method of this invention are not limitedto the above embodiment; various modification may be adopted providedthat they do not depart from the gist of the invention as set forth inthe claims.

[0076] As explained above, with the attachment fixture, cabinet stand,and article attachment method of this invention, for example whenattaching a stand to a device main body, there is no need to modify thedesign shape of the device main body, the stand can be attached to thedevice main body securely, and its removal becomes easy as well.

1. An attachment fixture comprising: a head part; and an attachment partextending longitudinally from said head part; wherein the attachmentpart includes a major axis part having a major axis along a firstdirection and a minor axis part having a minor axis along a seconddirection, said first and second directions being contained in the planethat is perpendicular to said longitudinal direction.
 2. An attachmentfixture as described in claim 1, further comprising a screw threadformed on said major axis part.
 3. A cabinet stand for supporting acabinet that has at least one groove defined between sidewalls, saidcabinet stand comprising: a stand main body having at least onethrough-hole; and an attachment fixture adapted for attaching said standmain body to a cabinet by insertion through said through-hole androtation in one direction; said attachment fixture further comprising ahead part that has a portion larger than the diameter of saidthrough-hole and an attachment part that extends from said head part inthe direction of the rotation axis and is adapted for passage throughsaid through-hole; wherein the attachment part includes a major axispart having a major axis along a first direction and a minor axis parthaving a minor axis along a second direction, said first and seconddirections being contained in the plane that is perpendicular to saidlongitudinal direction; and further wherein said major axis is longerthan the distance between the side walls in said cabinet groove, andsaid minor axis is shorter than the distance between said side walls. 4.A cabinet stand as described in claim 3, wherein said head part on theattachment fixture has a shape that extends along the first direction ofsaid two directions.
 5. A cabinet stand as described in claim 3, furthercomprising a thread ridge formed on said major axis part.
 6. A cabinetstand as described in claim 5, further comprising stoppers provided onsaid stand main body for restricting said attachment fixture to aprescribed range of rotation.
 7. An article attachment method forattaching a first article that includes at least one through-hole to asecond article that has at least one groove bounded by sidewalls, saidmethod comprising the steps of: aligning said at least one through-holewith said at least one groove; inserting at least one attachment fixturethrough said through-hole, said attachment fixture having a minor axispart and a major axis part; positioning the minor axis part of theattachment fixture so as to face the sidewalls of the at least onegroove; and rotating said at least one attachment fixture by aprescribed angle in one direction to position the major axis parts ofsaid attachment fixture so as to face said groove sidewalls, thereby toattach said first article to said second article.
 8. An electronicapparatus comprising an apparatus main body, a cabinet in which theapparatus main body is housed, and a cabinet stand for installing thecabinet, wherein the cabinet includes at least one groove; and whereinthe cabinet stand comprises a stand main body including at least onethrough-hole, and an attachment fixture for attaching the stand mainbody to the cabinet by inserting the attachment fixture through saidthrough-hole of the stand main body and rotating said attachmentfixture; and further wherein the attachment fixture comprises a headpart including a portion that is larger than the diameter of saidthrough-hole, and an attachment part extending longitudinally from saidhead part and being sized so as to go through said through-hole; andalso wherein the attachment part includes a major axis part having amajor axis along a first direction and a minor axis part having a minoraxis along a second direction, said first and second directions beingcontained in the plane that is perpendicular to said longitudinaldirection, said major axis being longer than the distance between theside walls in said cabinet groove, and said minor axis being shorterthan the distance between said side walls.